1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device and OSD (On Screen Display) controlling method for the display device, and more particularly, a display device and OSD controlling method for the display device which can easily achieve a desired adjustment for display parameters using minimized key inputs.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a monitor, which is used as a display device in a computer to output data generated from the computer, is largely classified into a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitor and an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitor.
Some such monitors have an OSD function for displaying adjustment information for adjusting the display of a video signal transmitted from the computer as well as information about the monitor. The OSD activated on the monitor includes a plurality of menus for altering information associated with a shape, a color, etc., of the display or information about the video signal on the screen thereof.
A monitor being contemplated by the Assignee of the present invention having such an OSD function includes a control section for receiving a video signal output from a video card of a computer and for receiving horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals to discriminate a resolution, a key inputting section for generating a control signal for controlling a monitor screen, a horizontal and vertical outputting circuit for receiving the horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals and a monitor controlling signal output from the control section to synchronize a raster, a video signal processing section for amplifying the video signal for application to the monitor which displays the amplified video signal thereon, an OSD generating section for processing OSD data applied thereto from the control section to generate an OSD, and a power supply circuit for supplying electric power to the control section, the horizontal and vertical outputting circuit, and the video signal processing section.
The key inputting section includes a menu key for activating an OSD on a monitor screen, four directional keys, i.e., UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT keys for moving a pointer indicated on the display window of the OSD to select a desired menu and/or adjusting the selected menu, and an end key for closing the OSD or replacing a present menu with an upper menu.
Where it is desired to adjust a display state of this monitor, when a user inputs the menu key of the key inputting section, the menus of the OSD are displayed on the screen thereof. An example of the monitor being contemplated by the Assignee of the present invention is shown in FIG. 4, wherein an OSD 70 includes a menu matrix 71 having a plurality of menu icons arranged in a pair of rows and a plurality of columns forming a matrix shape, and a display window 73 for displaying an adjusted display state associated with a selected one of the menu icons or sub-menus of the selected menu icon. Each menu icon of the menu matrix 71 indicates information about the video signal or information about the image state of a display section. Here, for convenience's sake, the leftmost menu icon of an upper row of the menu matrix 71 is designated as icon 1. Then, the remaining menu icons of the upper row are designated as icon 2, icon 3, . . . , and icon 7, respectively, in regular order from icon 1 to the right side. Similarly, the leftmost menu icon of a lower row of the menu matrix 71 is designated as icon 8, and the remaining menu icons of the lower row are also designated as icon 9, icon 10, . . . , and icon 14, respectively, in regular order from icon 8 to the right side. As a result, the rightmost menu icon of the lower row thereof becomes icon 14. The number indicated at the upper left end side of each menu icon represents the frequency of a minimum selection of the directional keys for moving the pointer from the initial (default) position thereof to a corresponding menu icon. For example, the default icon is icon 1 for adjusting brightness and in order to move to icon 2 for adjusting the contrast the user must press the right directional key once, however, if the user desires to adjust the frequency, icon 14, the user must press the left directional key once for moving the pointer from icon 1 to icon 14. To move from icon 1 to icon 7, the user presses the down key once and the left key once, thus the minimum number of times the directional keys for moving the pointer from the initial (default) position of icon 1 to icon 7 need to be pressed is two times.
More specifically, when the OSD 70 is activated, the pointer is positioned at the leftmost menu icon of the upper row of the menu matrix 71, which is called “the initial (default) position of the pointer”. The pointer is moved up and down or left and right in the menu matrix 71 according to the selection of the directional keys. At this point, the pointer is shifted along with a movement path on a closed loop formed up/down or left/right. That is, for example, when the LEFT key is selected in a state in which the pointer is positioned at icon 1, the pointer is moved from icon 1 to icon 14, and when the RIGHT key is selected in a state in which the pointer is positioned at icon 7, the pointer is moved from icon 7 to icon 8. Similarly, when the UP key is selected in a state in which the pointer is positioned at icon 1, the pointer is moved from icon 1 to icon 14, and when the DOWN key is selected in a state in which the pointer is positioned at icon 8, the pointer is moved from icon 8 to icon 2.
When the OSD 70 is displayed on a monitor screen to vary information about a monitor and a video signal using such a conventional OSD 70, the pointer is initially positioned at icon 1 or the leftmost menu icon of the upper row of the menu matrix 71. At this time, if a menu icon indicating a menu that a user desires to vary is icon 13, when the user depresses the LEFT key twice, the pointer reaches icon 13 immediately. However, since most users are accustomed to using the RIGHT key rather than the LEFT key, they depress the RIGHT key six times and then depresses the DOWN key once habitually to move the pointer from icon 1 to icon 13. As a result, the frequency of selection of the RIGHT key becomes larger than that of selection of the LEFT key by 5. Also, since a user feels icon 13 is at a far distance from icon 1 on the menus matrix 71 of the OSD 70, he/she feels inconvenienced by having to depressing the directional keys many times when moving the pointer from icon 1 to icon 13.
Meanwhile, the menu icons arranged on the menu matrix 71 of the OSD 70 are determined randomly upon the production of a monitor in consideration of the frequency of use, but a menu icon having a higher frequency of use is not equally applied to all the users. Accordingly, there have been proposed several methods in which a user can arrange the menu icons randomly or the menu icons are automatically arranged depending on the frequency of use. However, there has been a problem that only a simple rearrangement of the menu icons cannot satisfy the demand and convenience of the user sufficiently.
Accordingly, I have determined that there is a need for an improved arrangement of the menus of the OSD 70 and pointer shifting method in which a user feels that it is convenient and easy for him/her to choose the menu icons visually and which substantially satisfies the demand and convenience of the user.